Teslas, eggs and executive orders: Trump scrambles the status quo

Voters turned off by scale of changes; Democrats may get boost for midterms

- Bhagyashree Garekar

Tesla cars ablaze in dealerships and carparks. A 95 per cent drop in illegal immigration. The downsizing of Europe and Nato. Russia as a pal, not the perennial enemy. The large-scale sacking of federal workers. The gutting of the Department of Education. Tariffs on goods from friend and foe. A falling stock market. The price of a dozen eggs. Two months in, Trump II is many things to Americans.

The liberal intelligentsia which greeted President Donald Trump's every move with reflexive dismissiveness during his first term is not sneering any more. The shadowy "Deep State", which Mr Trump painted as having stakes in continuing the status quo in his first term, is under assault in his second. And then there is the furore over the role played by Tesla chief Elon Musk in the current administration.

Till now, there is no official tally of every Tesla car and truck burned across the US, but there are at least 20 confirmed incidents. They have all been linked to unhappiness over the billionaire's drive for unprecedented budget cuts and layoffs through the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

Amid a reprieve in bird flu outbreaks, wholesale egg prices dropped to US$4.83 (S$6.46) per dozen on March 14, a 44 per cent decline from their peak of US$8.58 per dozen on Feb 28. But retail prices still remain eye-watering, and consumers anticipate an Easter egg hunt of a different kind this year.

For a dozen large grade-A eggs, Americans had to pay a record US$5.90 on average in February. The previous high was US$4.82 per dozen in January 2023. Currently, a pack of 10 large eggs costs around $4 in Singapore.

Soon after Mr Trump took office on Jan 20, legal scholars, analysts and the media raised alarm over presidential overreach and defiance of congressional authority.